After cheating: do you even look at the scale?
 

I had an entire week of not-so-great eating and no exercise due to studying (Im taking a very hard course where I'm super behind in).. I know, that's alot.. I feel like complete ****, I'm itching to run but I have my last summer school test tomorrow so tomorrow I'm going to go nuts.

I just feel like I shouldn't even look at the scale, when it's not good news I get discouraged and stop caring altogether.

What would/do you guys do?

Well, I look only because it's important to me to know if I'm making progress in my future weight-loss, not because I'm eager to know how much I gained. I don't know if my current diet is working unless I see results on the scale.

I am currently in the exact same situtation. I weighed myself for the first time after a month off track, i went up at least 7lbs. It wasn't good, but it was the kick i needed to get back on plan and to stay on plan. I suggest you do the same, it might strengthen your resolve.

Good luck with the study.

I give myself a few days to get back on track so that I won't get discouraged. I had a completely off plan Memorial Day weekend, and there is no way I am stepping on the scale until a few on plan days have passed.

I would weigh in on my regular weigh in day.

I always weigh in anyway... ignorance is bliss, but knowing where you are will help motivate you to get back on track... at least that is how it is in my case.

I do. For me I have to own up to what I've eaten. In the past that is exactly how I have gained (not weighing).

I do... well, most of the time. I weigh daily as it is the best tool I have to keep me accountable. No matter how painful I think it's going to be, I get on the scale. It helps get me back on track and keep me on track. However, I do have those days when I'll skip because I'm certain it's not going to be good. Like yesterday I skipped it. I know I shouldn't have, but I did. The key for me is, even if I skip it, I can't do that more than a day or two or I start to avoid and then I gain. It's my own kind of crazy.

I weigh myself every morning including after days of overeating. For me it motivates me to get back to normal and I think that if I didn't weigh in straight away I'd either be really anxious about the numbers or I'd continue eating badly because I wasn't planning on weighing in. If you're worried about it though don't weigh in.. wait for a few days and drink lots of water. Remember that it's mostly water weight.

I weigh every Sunday morning no matter how the week goes. It's a habit I really need to establish. I don't consider going over allotted calories cheating though. It is just life.

I never used to. I couldn't handle seeing the gain, I'd make promises that I'd give myself a few days to get back on track. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but many times over the years, it was that exact thinking that led to every regain. Regains ranging from 10-15lbs, to a gain of 80lbs. I know this may not be the case with everyone, but I must continue to do my daily weigh-ins, regardless of my eating.

For me, my weigh-ins hold me responsible for my actions. It's not to punish or make me feel bad, but the gain from off-plan eating is going to be there whether I see the numbers on the scale or not. Seeing the numbers makes me aware of were I stand and can give me the motivation to make the changes necessary.

I don't. I know the scale will be up, and it will probably be up a lot (I can retain water like nobody's business! lol) so I don't get on the scale for at least a couple of days. For me, it's not worth the discouragement...it's a mental thing for me. Even though I know the scale will be up, and that it's my own doing, it still discourages me a lot to see the actual number. I'll give it a couple of days for the water weight to come off, then get on the scale. More often than not the number is probably still up, but not a whole lot.
That's if I've cheated a day or two...if it had been weeks or something, then I'd be getting on the scale right away to get me back on track!

ETA: I always weigh myself on my scheduled weigh in days (Saturdays), regardless of cheating. For example, if I cheated on a Friday, I still weigh in on Saturdays.

I weigh myself every day regardless of my cheating the day before.
I like seeing what I did and I honestly deserve the number that comes from it. I think it allows me to get back into it and work harder not to do it again. :lol: I think it's fun to see how my body reacts to my cheat days.

I weigh daily because I'm pretty obsessed about it. :( So yeah I punish myself If I've had a not so great week or whatever. (Just like this last weekend. I gained the 4lbs I lost PLUS 4-5 extra)

i always say that i'm going to give myself a few days and that that weigh in doesnt count, but i always end up weighing every day regardless of how badly i've eating.

the number i see sometimes sucks, but hey, i agree with other people that it keeps me on track and peaks my motivation to do better. i read somewhere that one of the possible keys to maintaining weight loss is to regularly find a way to keep yourself accountable. for some it's the scale for others its a piece of clothing and to be aware of small changes and fix them before they become big problems.

I will always weigh, because 90% of the time it will stop me in my tracks. If you feel too fragile, give yourself a few days of drinking plenty of water and sweating out some of that water weight before assessing.

I weigh first thing no matter what, although I will admit to some trepidation if the previous day's food means the number's likely to be higher than yesterday. I find it suits me though - the knowledge of the likely effect on the scales, when I know there isn't time to work it off (or poo it out), helps me to resist things I really shouldn't be eating. I also find it interesting keeping track of the fluctuations, so now I know, for example, how much the scales will be up after eating chips, and knowing that and seeing it happen every time makes me feel like I've a better understanding of what my body's doing and how it reacts to different things.

No. I always wait 2-3 days til I dont feel bloated anymore

It's interesting to see all the responses here. It seems as if most people weigh in. In Ann Fletcher's Thin for LIfe, I remember reading that one of the most pervasive behaviors among longterm maintainers is frequently weighing in.

I am one who doesn't like to weigh. In fact, I didn't even weigh myself when I first started my plan because I knew the number would discourage me (I'm easily discouraged). However, when I reached the size I wanted to be, I had to start weighing myself to determine how many calories I could eat for my stats (weight being one of them). Now, my schedule is that I weigh in on the Tuesday after my menstrual cycle and then the Tuesday after that---so twice a month. So, today was my first weigh-in of the month. I knew I was going to see a gain because my eating habits have been lax lately. I've been picking a lot--a bite here, a nibble there, and it's almost impossible to accurately count all of that. And I was right: I am up three pounds from a month ago (still within the weight range I've deemed "acceptable," but a little too close to my red-line weight for comfort).

However, you know what? I am glad I weighed in. Today, as much as I wanted to nibble something when I opened the fridge, that number I saw on the scale popped into my mind and it stopped me in my tracks. So, as much as I despise weighing myself, I do think it may be useful in keeping me on track.

Yes, I still weigh in. A few months ago we went on a long weekend, and I cheated. When I came home, I weighed in. It was mostly water weight, but I like to know where I'm at.

I do. It holds me accountable, and it also gives me information on how my body works. I went to Alaska for a week--the entire week was filled with cheating. When I got back, I was eleven pounds heavier than where I started! Of course, less then 10 days later, I was back where I started, and losing again; I think I spent most of the week peeing all the water out.

Also, sometimes the damage isn't nearly as bad as I expect it to be--this lets me know that one cheat-y day, taken by itself, isn't enough to derail me. This gives me a lot of motivation not to go, "well, I cheated, so everything's ruined and I might as well eat everything in sight!" It makes single cheat days feel on-plan, which makes what I'm doing feel less like a long slog, and more like living.

Most importantly, I don't call it "cheating" anymore, because that would set up the guilt/hopelessness/binge cycle.

Instead I consider it "damage control." I remember that I can't gain more than the food weighs, so I get on the scale immediately and consider the weight I see as "worst case scenario," and sort of a "starting fresh" point (rather than deciding to binge the rest of the day and start fresh the next day).

More importantly I think (and the "secret" to my unprecedented success "this time") is deciding that "not gaining" is the most important goal, even more important than losing weight - because losing weight means nothing if you can't keep it off (and I never could because I did see not losing as no worse or not much worse than gaining).

We're really taught to see weight loss that way, and I think it's why so few people succeed at weight loss, despite so many people trying. Gaining a lot is seen as no worse (or at least not much worse) than gaining a little or even staying the same - which means that when we see that we've not lost or have gained a bit, we feel that the situation is hopeless and we might as well binge and start fresh at some point in the future (tomorrow, next Monday, next month...).

But when I realize that I can't really have gained what the scale says I have (immediately after eating) it helps me stop the "traditional" response to a mistake (which is eating MORE and starting fresh later).

And I remind myself that "not gaining" is the most important thing - so even if I see a little gain (or what looks like it could be a gain on the scale even when I know it probably isn't a "real" gain) I remind myself that "not gaining more" is just as important as losing - so I don't let myself be tempted to binge because I've "blown it." I remind myself there is no blowing it, there's just moving on - and do I want to move forward or backwards (and even standing still is better than moving backwards).

Just refusing to give up hope, keeps me focused and so I choose to look at the scale results in a way that fuels hope not hopelessness.

Now I love weighing myself (sometimes as much as six times a day) and every time it feels amazing, because I know what to expect - and more often than not I get to celebrate "staying the same" and "not gaining" because I compare it not only to the previous weigh-in, but to the weigh-in the day previously and the week previously. I make myself see the big picture.

I dont like to because I get discouraged. I had an off plan weekend also. I'll let a couple days go by before I bite the bullet.

I weigh daily anyway and never skip, unless I actually forget. That keeps me accountable to correcting immediately and staying inside my weight window. No slips, no slides, just soldiering on and fixing the issue.

For me, avoiding the scale is a sure route to denial and weight gain. For regular weighers, I think it's especially important to keep stepping on the scale after indulgent days.

F.

If you feel that seeing that seeing the number the scale displays has the power to bring you down, I'd say just skip it for a week. You already know you've been eating "not so great" and once you're done with studying, you'll be ready to get back on track. There's no point in adding the extra pressure.

NOPE!
i dont even torture myself with that anymore.

ill wait after a week of eating right and working out 2 weigh in again.

The secret to my successful regaining after losing lots of weight is my scale avoidance. Works like a charm every time. :(

I'm trying to habituate myself to almost daily weighing, but I kind of dread it, even when the numbers are going down.

This is me too. I normally weigh in once a week, and if I had a day of big eating right before my weigh in, I'll skip it until the next weekend. I get discouraged seeing a huge gain (or even a small one) and that makes me just say "well screw it, I already gained weight, might as well eat like crap and then start again tomorrow" - Stupid, I know... but that's how I work.

When I overeat I do weigh the next day. It never fails to help me get right back on track.

I try to keep on weighing. I used to tell myself I'd do better next few days & THEN weigh, but often didn't follow through. Now I'd rather get the bad news over with and move on.

Good luck on the exams!! :crossed:

I gave myself a break while I was in America over Christmas. By the time I came back to Japan I felt bloated and pretty gross and refused to get on the scale. Then I kept refusing to get on the scale because I was scared. Ultimately I had gained 4kg. I say get on the scale so you can face reality and move forward.

I ignored the scale after a year...turns out i gained all my weight back! I say, keep getting on the scale to remind yourself that this is a journey!

re:
 

Yeah, I really REALLY didn't want to look at it this morning after this weekend's all out carb and fat fest. I couldn't resist though and saw the damage. 7lbs. I know it simply isn't possible to gain 7lbs in 5 days (or is it?!) and it's mostly water weight with a real gain of probably a pound or two.

I'm glad I did it though because it's much more motivating to me to see the results of what I was doing.

I do how else will you really know how bad you were?? It's an eye opener

In theory, it's quite possible (in my binge eating days, I could eat easily eat 10,000 calories in a day - which would translate into a gain of more than 2 lbs of fat gain per day).

That being said, at least some of it probably is water (and the weight of food that hasn't been digested yet).

I've learned though that trying to guess how much I "really" gained isn't productive, because I would let my "estimate" influence my choices, even my choice to continue (because if I lost "too much," I'd be discourage enough to be tempted to quit) or worse, I'd do crazy, unhealthy stuff to try to "catch up."

Now, I just tell myself that it doesn't matter how much is "real," because it's not going to change my behavior. I'm just going to get back on plan, and whether it takes three days, or three months, the weight will come off.

I'm going through this right now. I had 3 weeks of horrible eating and I'm actually still doing it a little bit. I have been cutting out dinner though because of it. I finally decided to weigh myself and I only gained 2lbs. I am having a tough time getting back on track.

Yes, I do. I weigh myself daily no matter how I eat. It encourages me to move a little bit more, work out harder, or eat differently if I just go ahead and face the music.

It depends on how much i have cheated, if I think I have done major damage I avoid the scale like the plague until I run interference (i.e get back on track) lol

After that I weigh tentatively to see what my actual damage really is lol

I just had this debate with myself. A lot of times I don't. I give myself a chance to recover before I weigh. But this time I decided that I can't know how successfully I've recovered until I know how bad it was. So I weighed, and it wasn't as bad as I thought. I'm up a pound and ready to move on back down.